China has an estimated 180 million gamers, and a new report suggests that they spend a fair amount of their hard earned money every month on online games. This news comes from a new study conducted by analyst group Niko Partners.

In a new report, the 2012 Chinese Gamers Report, Niko said that around 64 percent of 500 Chinese gamers it surveyed claimed that they spend money on games every month. Many of them said that they spend that money in free-to-play games. Almost a year ago, Niko said the Chinese online games industry was experiencing "explosive growth," and predicted that 2011's total revenues for the market would grow from $4.8 billion in 2010 to $5.8 billion in 2011.

In its latest report, Niko said that percentage of hardcore gamers (those who play more than 22 hours a week) was declining, while the number of casual players was rising. The group also said that the ratio of gamers over the age of 40 is growing every year, currently making up around 10 percent of its survey sample.

"In examining the rapidly evolving Chinese games market, we see that casual, social, and mobile games have all captured the hearts of hardcore and occasional gamers alike," explains Niko Partners managing partner Lisa Cosmas Hanson.

"Online games revenues are now more distributed among various platforms and genres than they have been in past years, when MMORPGs compiled the vast majority of domestic revenue," she added.